In January 2015, the Maldivian government unveiled plans to inaugurate a training programme to create thousands of cashier positions across the country to be filled exclusively by local workers. The 2000 proposed cashier positions, expected to be made available at shops, cafes and restaurants around the country, will be created by legislation coming into effect from April 2015. The legislation is designed to block the country's sizeable expatriate workforce from being employed in these roles.
Speaking at the launch of the scheme, Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed noted that an estimated 116,000 expatriates are currently believed to be working in the Maldives, amounting to around half of the country's entire working population. Earlier that month, the same minister announced that the government would no longer be supplying work permits to foreign photographers to provide Maldivian youth a chance to establish themselves in the lucrative tourism industry.
These initiatives fit in with a wider aim to boost the number of young people working in the Maldives – an increasingly strict Muslim-majority country that counts fishing and high-end resort-based tourism as its key income streams. The administration of President Abdulla Yameen previously pledged to create 94,000 jobs during a five-year term that began in 2013. According to a World Bank report published in February 2015, 22 percent of young people in the Maldives are unemployed. The report noted that the country's youth lacked "socio-emotional" and other key skills required in the job market, and aspired to high or unrealistic wages, resulting in a "national phenomenon" of "youth voluntary unemployment".
In its findings, the World Bank said that although youth unemployment was pronounced, especially in the case of women, it was unclear if the cause was an issue of demand or supply. It highlighted issues related to the perceptions and expectations of parents with regard to what is an acceptable job and wage for their children. "In the atolls specifically, many young women are keen to work and earn a livelihood but lack opportunities due to cultural norms" said the report. Along with fishing, men also work in resorts, though new and 'better' types of employment are sought out. Whatever the reasons for the islands' low rate of youth labour participation, the existence of an 'emirati' culture has been the result, with local businesses turning to dubiously sourced migrant labour that is oftentimes trafficked.